-Quartz India
On Dec. 30, 2016, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi cajoled president Pranab Mukherjee into promulgating the Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Ordinance, 2016. Two days later, on Jan. 02, 2017, the supreme court, in a separate matter, delivered a verdict that changed the law of ordinances in powerful ways. It scrubbed out old meanings, unearthed new ones, and further garrisoned judges’ hold on the constitution. A prohibitive change has swept in. Ordinances now face constitutional fire in ways they never have.
In the immediate crosshairs, perhaps, is Modi’s demonetisation decree. A lawfully-safe ordinance has overnight become constitutionally suspect.
Why? How? What now?
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